The Arktika class is a Russian (former Soviet) class of nuclear-powered icebreakers. Formerly known as Project 10520 nuclear-powered icebreaker, they were the world's largest and most powerful icebreakers until the 2016 launch of the first Project 22220 icebreaker, also named Arktika.[3][4] Ships of the Arktika class are owned by the federal government, but were operated by the Murmansk Shipping Company (MSCO) until 2008, when they were transferred to the fully government-owned operator Atomflot. Of the ten civilian nuclear-powered vessels built by Russia (and the Soviet Union), six have been of this type. They are used for escorting merchant ships in the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia as well as for scientific and recreational expeditions to the Arctic.

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On July 3, 1971, construction began on a conceptual design of a larger nuclear icebreaker, dubbed Arktika, in the Baltic Shipyard in then Leningrad.[5] Four years later, on December 17, 1975, Moscow and Leningrad received radio messages informing them that sea trials had been completed successfully. The newest and largest nuclear icebreaker at the time was ready for the Arctic.[6]

Arktika was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, on August 17, 1977.

As the leading vessel in Russia’s second nuclear icebreaker class, Arktika became the classification name for five icebreakers to follow: the Sibir in 1977, Rossiya in 1985, Sovetskiy Soyuz in 1989, the Yamal in 1992[7] and the 50 Let Pobedy in 2007.

The first of new class of nuclear icebreakers, the LK-60Ya class, was launched in 2016. Also called Arktika, it was launched in anticipation of decreasing ice and increased traffic.[8]

The Arktika is a double-hulled icebreaker; the outer hull is 48 mm (1.89 in) thick, the inner 25 mm (0.98 in) thick, with the space in between utilized for water ballasting. At the strongest point, the cast steel prow is 50 cm (19 ¾ in) thick and bow-shaped to aid in icebreaking, the curve applying greater dynamic force to fracture the ice than a straight bow would. The maximum ice thickness it can break through is approximately 5 meters (16.4 ft). Like many icebreakers, Arktika also has an Air Bubbling System (ABS) which delivers 24 m3/s of steam from jets 9 m (29.5 ft) below the surface to further aid in the breakup of ice.[6]

The ship is divided by eight bulkheads, providing nine watertight compartments in the event of disaster, and can undergo short towing operations when needed. It also comes equipped with a helicopter pad and hangar at the aft of the ship.[6]Mil Mi-2 "Hoplite", dubbed ptichka (Russian for "little bird"), or Kamov Ka-27 "Helix" helicopters are used for scouting expeditions to find safe routes through the ice floes.[9]

Over the period December 1967 to May 1970, Lenin, precursor of the Arktika and the first ever nuclear-propelled icebreaker, had its three OK-150 reactors, capable of 90 MW each, replaced with two OK-900 reactors, capable of 159 MW each.[5] The work was carried out at the Zvezdochka yard in Severodvinsk.[10]

Arktika and the entire Arktika-class icebreaker fleet are outfitted with two OK-900A reactors, which deliver 171 MW each. Each reactor is contained in its own closed compartment and weighs 160 tonnes. They are shielded by water, steel, and high density concrete, and ambient radiation is monitored throughout the ship by 86 sensors.[6] The reactors were originally fueled by a 90% enriched, zirconium-clad, uranium fuel. Those reactors still in operation today now use a 20%-90% enriched with 60% average enrichment uranium[clarification needed] dispersed in an aluminum matrix.[11] The chain reaction can be stopped in 0.6 seconds by the full insertion of safety rods.[6]

Arktika consumes up to 200 grams of fuel a day when breaking ice. There are 500 kg of Uranium isotopes in each reactor, allowing for at least 13.7 years between changing reactor cores. The used cores are extracted and replaced in Murmansk, the spent fuel reprocessed and waste disposed of at a radioactive waste plant.[6]

Both the OK-150 and OK-900(A) are pressurized water reactors, meaning that cooling water is continually pumped under pressure through the reactor to remove heat, keeping the cores and the reactor cool. The heated water is pumped from the reactor to a boiler (4 boilers per reactor), where it transfers its heat into another body of water, producing steam at a rate of 30 kg/cm3 (approx 1,084 psi)[clarification needed] . Each set of four boilers drives two steam turbines, which turn three dynamos. One kilovolt of direct current is then delivered to three double-wound motors directly connected to the propeller, providing an average screw velocity of 120-180 rpm. Five auxiliary steam turbines are tied into the plant to provide electricity, turning dynamos which develop 30 MW.[6]

Three fixed-pitch propellers provide Arktika with its thrust, power, and maneuverability. The starboard and centerline propellers turn clockwise while the port turns counter clockwise to compensate. Each propeller sits at the end of a 20 meter (65.6 ft) shaft and has four blades, which weigh seven tons[clarification needed] and are attached by nine bolts to the hub which is 5.7 meters (18.7 ft) in diameter and weighs 50 tonnes. Arktika also carries four spare blades along with the appropriate diving equipment and tools so that propeller repairs may be made at sea; the operation can take anywhere from 1–4 days depending on the extent of the damage.[6]

Sevmorput

Sevmorput is a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaking LASH carrier and container ship. Named after the Northern Sea Route, the 1988-built ship is one of only four nuclear-powered merchant ships ever built. After having been laid up in Murmansk for years awaiting disposal, the vessel was extensively refitted and returned to service in 2016.

Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels, such as the icebreaking boats that were once used on the canals of the United Kingdom.

Nuclear-powered icebreaker

A nuclear-powered icebreaker is a nuclear-powered ship purpose-built for use in waters covered with ice. The only country constructing nuclear-powered icebreakers is Russia. Nuclear-powered icebreakers have been constructed by the Soviet Union and later Russia primarily to aid shipping along the Northern Sea Route in the frozen Arctic waterways north of Siberia. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are much more powerful than their diesel-powered counterparts, and although nuclear propulsion is expensive to install and maintain, very heavy fuel demands and limitations on range, compounded with the difficulty of refueling in arctic region, can make diesel vessels less practical and economical overall for these ice-breaking duties.

Lenin (1957 icebreaker)

Lenin is a Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker. Launched in 1957, it was both the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship and the first nuclear-powered civilian vessel. Lenin entered operation in 1959 and worked clearing sea routes for cargo ships along Russia's northern coast. From 1960 to 1965 the ship covered over 85,000 miles during the Arctic navigation season, of which almost 65,000 were through ice. On April 10, 1974 the vessel was awarded the Order of Lenin. She was officially decommissioned in 1989. She was subsequently converted to a museum ship and is now permanently based at Murmansk.

Nuclear marine propulsion

Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship or submarine with heat provided by a nuclear power plant. The power plant heats water to produce steam for a turbine used to turn the ship's propeller through a gearbox or through an electric generator and motor. Naval nuclear propulsion is used specifically within naval warships such as supercarriers. A small number of experimental civil nuclear ships have been built.

Yamal (icebreaker)

Yamal is a Russian Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreaker operated by Atomflot. It is named after the Yamal Peninsula in Northwest Siberia; the name means End of the Land in Nenets.

Arktika (1972 icebreaker)

Arktika is a retired nuclear-powered icebreaker of the Soviet Arktika class. In service from 1975 to 2008, she was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole, a feat achieved on August 17, 1977 during an expedition dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution.

Taymyr (1987 icebreaker)

Taymyr is a shallow-draft nuclear-powered icebreaker, and the first of two similar vessels. She was built in 1989 for the Soviet Union in Finland, at the Helsinki Shipyard by Wärtsilä Marine, by order of the Murmansk Shipping Company. Her sister ship is Vaygach.

Vaygach (1989 icebreaker)

Vaygach is a shallow-draught nuclear-powered icebreaker. She was built in 1989 for the Soviet Union by Wärtsilä Marine Helsinki Shipyard in Finland by order of the Murmansk Shipping Company. Her sister ship is Taymyr.

Double acting ship

Double acting ship is a type of icebreaking ship designed to run ahead in open water and thin ice, but turn around and proceed astern (backwards) in heavy ice conditions. In this way, the ship can operate independently in severe ice conditions without icebreaker assistance but retain better open water performance than traditional icebreaking vessels.

Vladimir Ignatyuk (icebreaker)

Vladimir Ignatyuk is a Russian icebreaking anchor handling tug supply vessel. She was built by Burrard-Yarrows Corporation in Canada in 1983 as Kalvik as part of an Arctic drilling system developed by BeauDril, the drilling subsidiary of Gulf Canada Resources. After the offshore oil exploration in the Beaufort Sea ended in the early 1990s, she was sold to the Canadian shipping company Fednav in 1997 and renamed Arctic Kalvik. In 2003, she was purchased by Murmansk Shipping Company and transferred to Russia.

Murtaja (1890 icebreaker)

Murtaja was a Finnish state-owned steam-powered icebreaker. Built in 1890 by Bergsunds Mekaniska Verkstads AB in Stockholm, Sweden, she was the first state-owned icebreaker of Finland and one of the first purpose-built icebreakers in the world. Murtaja remained in service for 68 years until she was decommissioned and broken up in 1958 after having been replaced by the diesel-electric Karhu.

Murmansk Shipping Company

Murmansk Shipping Company, often abbreviated as MSCO, is a Russian shipping company based in Murmansk. One of the primary shipping companies operating in Arctic Russia and northern Europe, as of 2014 the company has 303 vessels, with a total deadweight of about 1.2 million tons. The company runs a notable museum in Murmansk.

Project 21900 icebreaker

Project 21900 and Project 21900M icebreakers are a series of five Russian diesel-electric icebreakers. Two project 21900 icebreakers were built at Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg in 2008 and three project 21900M icebreakers were built at Vyborg Shipyard in Vyborg and at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard in Helsinki. Two of the new vessels were entered service in 2015 and the last one (Novorossiysk) in 2016. The construction of the 21900M class icebreakers was conducted under the Federal Target Programme "Development of the Transport System of Russia ".

Moskva (2007 icebreaker)

Moskva is a Russian Project 21900 diesel-electric icebreaker. Built at Baltic Shipyard in 2008, she was the first non-nuclear-powered icebreaker built in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.